Ballot-box.



No. 678,786. Patented luly I6, |9 0|.

J. A.- LINN.

BALLoT sox. Y v (Application med Oct. 27, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 SheetsfvSheet 2.

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the top or cover of the casing.

FFIQF@ JOHN AUGUST LINN, OF PAGOSA SPRINGS, COLORADO.

BALLoT-Box.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,786, dated July 16, 1901.

Application filed October Z7, 1900. Serial NO- 34,656. (N0 model-l To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN AUGUST LINN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pagosa Springs, in the county of Archuleta and State of Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful Ballot-Box, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to ballot-boxes; and the object in view-is to provide a casing or housing for the registering and transferring mechanism of the machine, which housing or casing constitutes a top for an ordinary ballot-box of any description to which the housing or casing may be applied. The ballotbox or voting-machine comprises an opening, through which the ballots are inserted into the box, and in connection therewith mechanism is employed controlled by a plunger, which operates to simultaneously open or release a self-opening shutter for the ballot-receiving opening and actuate the registering and transferring apparatus, the total number of votes cast being visibly indicated upon all sides of the box. The operative parts of the mechanism are so combined and arranged that the shutter which closes the ballot-receiving opening cannot be thrown .open to admit a ballot without operating the registering mechanism, thereby preventing the fraudulent casting of votes.

The detailed objects and advantages of the invention will fully appear in the course of the ensuing description.

The invention consists in a ballot-box or voting-machine embodying certain novel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View showing a portion of a ballot-box with the top forming the housing for the operating mechanism shown applied. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same with the cover removed to show the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of Fig. 5 is a similar view of the plunger-foot, showing the means for actuating the operating-lever. Fig.

6 is a detail perspective view of the operating-lever, which is actuated by the plunger. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the shutter-closing lever. Fig. Sis a fragmentary view of a portion of the lower ratchet-rim or annular rack, showing the graduated rim thereon. Fig. 9 is a detail plan View of the sections of the two graduated rims or bands.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a ballot-box, which is shown for convenience as rectangular in cross-section and provided with a top 2, corresponding in shape therewith and fitted thereon. The top 2 constitutes a housing or casing for the registering, transferring, and shutter-operating mechanism, and for that purpose consists of a bottom piece or wall 8, a cover 4, and inclosing sides In order to give access to the mechanism contained therein, the cover 4. of the box is provided with a lid hinged at '7 to one side of the housing, the free edge of the lid being secured to the frame of the top by means of a lock which is operable by a key, as hereinafter described.

The cover 4 is provided with a ballot-receiving opening 10, and immediately beneath the opening 10a similar opening 11 is formed in the bottom piece or wall 3. Ballots deposted in the opening 10 pass directly into the box 1, and in order to prevent them from lodging between the parts 3 and 4t vertical partitions or walls 12 are extended between the openings 10 and 11 to form a channel or chute, through which the ballots must pass directly into the box. This chute or ballotreceiving openingis normally closed by means of a shutter-13, pivotally mounted by means of oppositely-projecting trunnions or pintles 14, journaled in suitable eyes or bearings 15 at one side of the opening, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Y The shutter 13 is provided with a laterallyextending and normally downwardly projecting trip-arm 16 in the form of a bail, the cross-bar portion 17 of which is normally engaged by the free end of a shutter-trip lever 18, fulcrumed at its opposite end, as at 19, and normally upheld in engagement with the IOO trip-arm by means of a suitable sustainingspring 20,arranged beneath the extended free end thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The trip-lever is depressed for releasing the trip-arm 16 by means of a plunger-foot 2l, adjustably connected to and mounted upon the lower end of a vertically-disposed plunger 22, havingat its upper end a push-button The plunger-foot works up and down in a walled compartment 24 within the housing 2, -being guided in its movements thereby and normally upheld by means of a coiled spring 25, arranged beneath the plunger-foot and exerting its tension to throw the plunger and its foot upward after they have been depressed by the operator orvoter. The plunger-foot is provided with a laterally-projecting portion 26, the end of which is extended downward to form a pendent projection 27, which when the plunger is depressed comes in contact with the upper side of the triplever 1S and acts to throw said trip-lever downward and release the tri p-arm l6,where upon the shutter 13 is swung upon its pivotal connection and thrown open by the aid of a curved spring 28, fastened at one end to a suitable support and bearing at its free end upon a hammer-arm 29, provided with a hammer 30, which is thus b v the aid of the spring 2S thrown and caused to iinpinge against a suitable bell or gong 3l, arranged within the casing, as shown in Fig. 2. The free end of the spring 2S is reeurved to form a hooi; 32, which will obviate any disengagement between the spring and the hammerarm. It will thus be seen that as the shutter is tripped and thrown open the fact is audibly indicated to bystanders by reason of the hammer impinging against the bell.

The shutter is closed or returned to its normal position by means of a shutter-closing lever 33, having a journal or fulcrum portion 3 intermediate its ends and mounted in a suitable bearing 35. ()ne arm 3G of the lever is engaged by the lateral extension of the plunger-foot, being preferably inserted to work loosely in an opening 37 in the plunger'- foot. The other arm 38 of the shutter-closing lever is bent in the form of a hook, as shown at 39, to engage the bail-shaped triparm l0 of the shutter, so that as the hooked end of the lever moves downward during the upward or return movement of the plunger said hook rides against the pendent trip-arm, swinging the shutter on its pivotal connection and restoring the shutter to its normal horizontal position, so as to obstruct the ballot-receiving opening. The shutter is not released and thrown open until the downward movement of the plunger has been nearly completed, and during this downward movement of. the plunger the registering mechanism is operated, as will hereinafter appear.

rihe registering mechanism comprises a pair of annular racks or ratchet-rims 40 and Lil, 40 designating the upper and 4l the lower rack. Both racks are supported by common guides 42, arranged at intervals, as shown in Fig. 2. One of said guides is shown in elevation in Fig. 3 and comprises upper and lower notches or ways 43, in which the annular racks move in a circular path. Both racks comprise ratchet-teeth 4i, projecting from their upper sides and adapted to be engaged by a ratchet-lever and transferring device 45. The upper rack 40 is equipped with a surrounding band or rim 4G, graduated upon its outer surface and containing numerals from l to 24, inclusive, four sets of such figures being represented on the band 46. A similar but wider band 47 surrounds the lower annular rack and contains upon its outer surface four rows oi' figures runningfrom O to 99, inclusive. Byexamining the wide strip of Fig. 9 it will be seen that the O in the second row of figures comes beneath the number 25 in the first row. In a similar manner the O in the third row comes below 25 in the second row, as demonstrated by the number 50 of the third row being under t-he number 75 of the second. The same is true ofthe `fourth row with relation to the third. The object of this specific arrangement of figures will be hereinafter' set forth. rlhe lower rack ditfers from the upper rack in that it isprovided with a drop-notch 4S to receive the lower tooth i9 on the transferringratchet-levera5, so that when the lower rack e0 has gone through one complete revolution the tooth 49 will drop in-to the notch 48 and allow the upper tooth 50 of the transferring-lever to engage one of the teeth ol' the upper rack and move the same a distance of one tooth.

The lever Li5 is provided with a vertical cross-pin forming oppositely-projecting pintles 5l, the lower pintle being received in a correspondingly-shaped socket within the casing and the upper pintle being received in an elongated or slotted opening 53 in an over hanging part 54 of the frame, so as to allow a slight up-and-down movement of the free end of the lever 45, as well as a lateral or side-swinging movement, the object of the vertical movement being to allow the tooth 49 to drop into the notch LiS, so as Ato cause an engagement between the tooth 50 and one of the teeth of the upper rack. The body of the transferring-lever 45 is provided with an oblique web portion 55, disposed at an angle to the vertical and adapted to be engaged simultaneously on opposite sides by a pair ot' projections or rollers 56, carried by a yoke or U-shaped frame-piece 57, connected to the plunger-foot 2l, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. It will now be seen that when the plunger is depressed the rollers or projections 5U must travel in a vertical direction, thus acting upon .the inclined or oblique web 55 so as to swing the transferring-lever l5 on its vertical axis. This imparts movement to a pawl 5S, pivotally connected to the free end of the transferring-lever, and said pawl engages IOO IIO

@avec successively the teeth 44 of the lower rack 4l and feeds the same around step by step. As the plunger is thrown upward by the spring 25 the rollers or projections 56 act in the same manner to swing the transferring-lever 45 in the reverse direction in readiness for another stroke. Thus each time the plunger is depressed the annular rack is fed around a distance equal to one tooth. In each complete movement of the lower rack the drop'- notch 48 comes into line with the tooth 49 of the transferring-lever and allows the free end of said lever to drpp far enough to cause the tooth 50 to engage one of the teeth of the upper annular rack, thus moving said upper rack forward one tooth in the next stroke of the plunger, the tooth 49 at all other times resting upon the ledge 59 of the lower rack or rim.

Spring-detents 62 are provided at intervals for engaging the teeth of the upper rack or rim to prevent backward movement thereof, and similar detente 63 are provided to prevent backward movement of the lower rack or rim.

The top 2 is shown as having four sides, and each side is provided with one or more openings 65 and 66, the upper opening of each 'f pair being designed to disclose the figures on the upper band 46, while the lower opening is designed to disclose the figures on the lower band. To the left of Fig. l it will be noticed that the two openings communicate or, in fact, constitute a single vertical elongated opening sufficient to bring into view one of the figures on the upper band and one of the figures of the top row of the lower band. the right of Fig. l the lower opening 66 is sufficiently beneath the upper ropening to come into line with the second row of iigures on the lower strip. On the succeeding side of the top the second opening 66 is still lower, so as to disclose the third rowof figures on the band 47, while on the fourth and remaining side the opening 66 is still lower down, so as to bring into view the bottom of the fourth row of figures on the lower band. On account of the particular arrangement of iigures hereinabove described, and shown in Fig. 9, the same number will appear in each of the openings 66 and a corresponding number in each of the upper openings 65. The figures appearing in the lower openings designate the number of votes up to one hundred, while the figures appearing in the upper openings 65 represent hundreds. f

The means for locking the lid of the top casing 4 consists of one or more centrallypivoted latches 60,1nounted in recesses in one of the sides 5 and provided with oppositelylocated lips 6l, adapted to engage one or more staples 64, attached to and pendent from the lid, and other staples or eyes 67, projecting upward from the top of the box 1. The latches 60 are normally held in engagement with the eyes or staples by means of springs 68, set into the sides of the topand bearing at their free ends against shoulders on the latches. Each latch also has its pivot extended outwardly and screw-threaded, as shown at 69, to receive the internally-threaded end of the plunger 22, which thus forms, in addition to its function as a plunger, a key for unlocking the top and lid of the ballot-box. In packing or storing the ballot-box the plunger 22 is detached by unscrewing and inserted in a countersunk socket 70 in the top, where it will be out of the way. The lid is provided on its under side with a shallow recess 71, the edges of which are grooved or rabbeted to receive a shutter 72, adapted to open or close the ballot-receiving opening I0, the opening 73l for the plunger, and a series of perforations 74, provided for the purpose of allowing the sound of the inclosed bell or gong to be readily transmitted to the ears of bystanders.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that inthe downward movement of the plunger 22 the plunger-foot 2l is given a cor- .responding movement, and as the plungerfoot descends it rocks the ratchet-lever 45 and imparts a movement to the lower ratchetrim or annular rack equal to the distance of one tooth or one graduation of the lower number on the band 47, and this movement is visibly indicated through the openings 66.

In its downward movement the plunger-foot also comes in contact with the shutter-trip lever, depressing the latter and releasing the shutter, which is thrown open by the action of the shutter-opening spring 28. The hammer-arm 29, being attached to the shutter 13, is swung downward into contact with the bell o'r gong 3l, thus audibly indicating that the shutter has'been thrown open ready to allow a ballot to be deposited in the boX. When the plunger is released, the spring 25 moves the same upward to its initial position, and in moving upward the presser-foot rocks the shutter-closing lever 53 and by the connections hereinabove described again closes the shutter, which is locked in its closed position until the plunger is again depressed by the voter or election judge, as the case may be. In this way the total number of votes cast is indicated up to any given time, and when the voting is completed the total number of votes cast is indicated on each and every side of the box. The indication of the number of votes cast on each and every side of the box or casing is important during hours of voting, as it enables the judges of the several parties to keep tally without inconvenience.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isv l. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism, comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-lever .fulcrumed within the rims and coperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, and means for operating said lever, substantially as described.

IOO

IIO

E3. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism, comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-lever fulcrumed Within the rims and cooperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, and a plunger operatively connected with said ratchet-lever, substantially as described.

3. In a ballot-box, registeringmechanism, comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-lever fulcrumed within the rims and mounted to swing both horizontally and vertically and cooperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, and means for operating said lever, substantially as described.

e. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism, comprisingI concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-leverfulcrumed Within the rims and cooperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, means for operating said lever, and detents in engagement with each ratchet-ri m substantially as described.

5. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a transferring ratchetlever fulcrumed within thehrims and cooperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, and a plunger acting directly on said rat-chetlevcr i'or vibrating the latter, substantially as described.

` 6. Ina ballotbox, registering mechanism comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a transferring ratchet-lever coperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim and having an oblique web portion, and a plunger having a foot provided with means `for engaging said web, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-lever cooperating constantly With one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim and having an oblique web portion, a plunger, and a plunger-foot having engaging devices which operate simultaneously on both sides of the web, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a transferring ratchet-lever cooperating constantly With one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim and having an oblique web portion, a plunger, and a plunger-foot provided with rollers operating simultaneously on opposite sides of said web portion, substantially as and `for the purpose specified.

9. In a ballotbox, registering mechanism comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a transferring ratchet-lever coperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the adjacent rim, a rigid tooth on said lever for engaging-one of the rims, a pivoted tooth or pawl on said lever for engaging the adjacent rim, and a plunger operatively connected with said ratchetdcver ii'or vibrating the latter, substantially as described.

1 Bref/se lO. In a ballot-box, registering mechanism, comprising concentric open ratchet-rims, a ratchet-lever cooperating constantly with one rim and intermittently with the ad jacent rim, a plunger operatively connected with said ratchet-lever, and a plunger-foot detachably mounted upon the plunger and forming an element of the operating connections, substantially as described.

ll. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a depressible spring-retracted plunger for operating thc same, of a spring-opened shutter, a shutter trip actuated by the downward movement of the plunger, and means associated with the plunger for closing the shutter, substantially asdescribed.

l2. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a depressible spring-retracted plunger' for operating the same, of a shutter for the ballot-receiving opening, and means associated with the plunger for opening the shutter by one movement of the plunger and closing it by the reverse movement, substantially as described.

13. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a depressble spring-retracted plunger for operating the same,ot` a plungerdoot thereon, a shutter covj ering the ballot-receiving opening, and a shutter-closing lever associated with the plunger-foot and operated by the upward movement of the same, substantially as described.

let. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a depressible spring-retracted plunger for operating the same, of a spring-opened shutter, a shuttertrip actuated by the downward movement of the plunger, and a shutter-closing lever operated by the return movement of the plunger, substantially as described.

l'. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism and a plunger for operating the same, of a springopened shutter, a trip-arm thereon, a shutter-trip actuated by the plunger, and a shutter-closing lever fulcrumed atan intermediate point and have ing one end arranged to be operated upon by the plunger, the opposite end of said shutter-closing lever being formed to engage the trip-arm on the shutter, substantially as described.

16. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, an operating-plum ger therefor, and a plunger-foot on the pluri,- ger, of a spring-opened' shutter, a triparm thereon, a shutter-trip actuated by the plunger, and a shutter-closing lever, one end of Which is in engagement with the plungerfoot and the opposite end in engagement with the trip-arm of the shutter, substan tially as described.

17. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a shutter for the ballot-receiving opening, of a plunger for operating the registering mechanism and tripping the shutter, a hammer-arm carried IOO IIO

by the shutter, a bell arranged in the path of the hammer-arm and a spring arranged to act on the hammer-arm and also on the shutter, substantiallyvas described.

18. In a ballot-box, the combination with registering mechanism, and a pivoted shutter, of a plunger for operating the registering mechanism and shutter, a hammer-arm carried by the shutter, a bell arranged in the path of the hammer-arm, and a shutter-opening spring fast at one end and having its free end hooked and in engagement with the hammer-arm, substantially as described.

19. The combination with a ballot-box, of a hinged hollow top forming the housing for the registering and transferring mechanism, a cover or `lid independently hinged to the housing, and a locking device for simultaneously securing the housing to the box and the cover to the housing, substantially as described.

20. The combination with a ballot-box, of a hinged hollow top forming the housing for the registering and transferring mechanism, a hinged lid therefor, a .locking device for simultaneously securing both top and lid., and a detachable plunger for actuating the registering and transferring mechanism, said plunger forming the key for operating the locking device, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN AUGUST LINN. W'itncsses:

DAVID IIIRsoI-I, J. S. HATCHER. 

